Shattered Innocence (Polished)
by StolenMemes77
Summary: A polished and shortened version of an infamous story that nobody has been able to finish. Lincoln is locked out overnight during the events of No Such Luck and is murdered by a serial killer. The Louds then have to deal with the consequences of their actions, and Lincoln's untimely death. Rated T for the topic and lots of blood.
1. Introduction

Before you read this story, I'd like to say that I did what I felt I needed.

Lots of people try to continue a story that was already nine chapters in and clearly had a different vision than a lot of people. So of course, it messes with the writer when they try to finish something somebody was only half-way done with. That's why I decided to start my version at the structure. As sad as I am to say this, Chapters 3 and onward have been completely removed. And chapters 1 and 2 were mildly edited (more specifically polished to look better and to not be a giant wall of text), the only thing on my mind from those two chapters that I removed was the ending to chapter two, so I could change it and set up for chapter three, and a Leni joke that honestly shouldn't be in this story, seeing how this story is quite literally about the murder of an eleven year old boy. AustinDR is by no means a bad writer, but I don't think he should've added that in.

As for the original text, it's all saved somewhere, so that's not to worry about. The original nine chapters are still kind of floating around for whatever reason they need to be.

These three chapters aren't amazing, nor do I at all think they're my best work. But I think I did a good job with what I had and hope you all enjoy.


	2. The Disappearance of Lincoln Loud

Chapter One: The Disappearance of Lincoln Loud

Normally one would try to avoid having bad luck any way possible. With Lincoln, however, he fully embraced it. Ever since Lynn lost that baseball game, she prohibited him from attending any of her sports-related events, fearing that he might jinx them. Truth be told, Lincoln would rather have the house to himself than go to one of his sisters' stupid presentations. So, when Lynn began to spread the rumor that Lincoln was cursed, he took advantage of it. While his family was away, Lincoln had full range of the house. He freely read his comic books in his underwear, among other things. Sure, it was dirty of him to lie to his family, but he'll they'll forget about it once he sets the record straight with them.

Unfortunately for Lincoln not only was he being excluded from his sisters' personal events, but he was also left out of attending events he truly wanted to engage in. Soon, his parents fell victim to his lie, and they kicked him out of his own home. Despite his insistence that he wasn't bad luck, Lynn continually pointed out that when he went to her game she lost, thus solidifying their superstitions. Not once was Lincoln allowed back in the house, not even to use the restroom. Slowly, the day turned to night, and the Loud family was preparing for bed. Before excusing themselves to their bedroom, Rita and Lynn Sr. approached the door, and gave Lincoln a blanket and pillow.

"Please, let me back in," begged Lincoln "I swear that I'm not bad luck."

Lynn Sr. shook his head. It hurt him to do this to his son, but he believed that it was for the best.

"Sorry, sport," he began "better safe than sorry."

How could his father say something that thoughtless? Rita bent down and gave her son a kiss on the forehead. She clearly didn't like this anymore than her husband did, but she tried to ease her son's anxiety the only way she knew how.

"Besides, your father and I are taking the girls to the beach tomorrow. We wouldn't want anything bad to happen to any of them, right?"

Lincoln knew that this was supposed to come off as reassuring, but the way that she worded her explanation almost gave off the impression that his sisters' lives were more important. Despite this, Lincoln begrudgingly nods his head in understanding. "Yes I guess so," he replied.

Rita rubs his head comfortingly. "Don't worry, sweetie, we'll check up on you in the morning."

With that, Lincoln was left alone in the darkness. He tried to situate himself on the porch, but it proved to be bumpy in comparison to his bed. Even so, Lincoln found himself slowly drifting off to sleep with the sound of crickets chirping.

Morning slowly crept upon the horizon. Rays of sunlight seeped its way into the parents' shared bedroom, stirring them awake. After getting themselves fully dressed, the two descended down the stairs, and entered into the kitchen. Rita grabs a box of cereal from one of the cabinets, and pours the cereal into a bowl. She then walks towards the refrigerator, takes out a jug of milk, and pours the contents of the jug into the bowl. She then heads towards the front door.

"Good morning, sweetie," chimed Rita "breakfast is ready." She slides the bowl of cereal through the doggy door. There was no response on the other side of the door.

The lack of a reply surprised Rita. She knew that her son was upset about having to sleep outside, but at the very least he would be thankful enough to accept the bowl of cereal. Rita called her son's name a second time only to be met by the same deathly silence. Worried, Rita opens the door, to find that his blanket had been abandoned.

Lynn Sr. was fixing a cup of coffee when his wife rushed back into the kitchen. "Is Lincoln up?" he yawned. He nearly dropped his cup upon listening to her answer.

"I can't find Lincoln anywhere," says Rita frantically.

Lynn Sr. takes a few deep breaths before speaking. "Can't find him?" Lynn Sr. exclaimed in a shocked, but slightly controlled tone.

Rita nods her head. "Nothing but his blanket is here." Sparking his interest, Rita produces the discarded blanket. Lynn Sr. analyzes the blanket for a few minutes. From the look of it, the blanket was slightly dirtied, though it should be expected as the porch can get rather dirty, but what caught his attention were the tears along the side. There appeared to have been some scuffle during the night.

Fearful, Lynn Sr. returned his glance to his wife, and attempted to flash a hopeful smile. "Don't worry dear, I'm sure he went over to Clyde's house," he suggested.

Rita sighed a breath of relief. "Right, how couldn't I think of that?" she proclaimed. She dashes towards the phone, and dials the McBride residence. The phone rang a few times before the call went through.

"Hello," droned a voice. The voice was unfamiliar to Rita at first, but upon further inspection, she deciphered the voice as belonging to Howard. Given the irritated tone, Rita correctly concluded that he just got out of bed.

"Yes, Howard. I'm just calling to see if Lincoln happened to spend the night over at your house." Howard yawns.

"No, Rita. I hadn't seen him all day." Saddened, Rita thanks him for his cooperation and hangs up.

Lynn Sr. walked into the room the moment she ended her call with Howard. "He's there?" he asked.

Rita shook her head depressingly. Lynn Sr. returned her worried expression. As if on cue, the girls descend the stairs, rubbing the tiredness from their eyes.

"What's with the ruckus," yawned Lori. A silence as sharp as a knife befell the room. The parents struggled to break the news to their daughters. Eventually, Rita spoke up. "Girls," she manages to choke out "Your brother's missing."

The girls' eyes widen in shock. "Did you call Clyde's house?" inquired Luna.

"I did, and they said hadn't" Rita explained.

Lori quickly grabs her phone, and dials her boyfriend to ask if he had seen him. Instantaneously, Bobby states that he hadn't, and neither had his sister. "Oh, this is bad," groaned Lori.

Lana worriedly looked at the front door.

"You don't think he ran away because we kicked him out," she asked.

"I think so," Lola says regrettably.

Lynn stretches her arms, yawning while doing so "Maybe he's just playing some prank on us."

The other girls perked up at this. "That's right," exclaims Lori "he's probably somewhere in this house!" All of the sisters went about trying to find their missing brother. Lori and Leni crawled underneath the stairs of the house's porch, only to come across the artificial skeleton left over from Halloween. Lucy checked the attic, only to find her bats situated there. Luan and Luna checked the boiler room almost as if to expect that Lincoln would be hiding in the boiler. They opened the door to the stove, but only to find it empty. The sisters gutted the house in hope of finding their brother. For all of their efforts, they only manage to leave a huge mess.

"I think Lincoln really is gone," bemoaned Luna.

"And it's all my fault," added Lynn. Luna looked at her with confusion.

"I was the one who said that he was bad luck in the first place. Now he's gone because of me." Lynn drops her head in shame.

Lori gently pat her back reassuringly. "No don't say that; I'm sure he'll show up." Lynn refused to return her glance, but she decided that there was some truth in her words. "You promise?" She asks. Lori nods. The family goes about their day. The sisters wanted to skip school so that they could devote their time to searching for Lincoln, but Rita goads them into leaving. By the time that the girls returned from school, Lincoln had yet to return.

"It's been hours," states Lucy observantly "are we sure that Lincoln isn't…"

Lola interrupts her thought bubble. "Isn't what?" she inquires.

"Dead" Lucy bluntly states. Lana walks over and shakes her.

"Don't say that, Luce!" she yelled.

Unfazed, Lucy continued her explanation "It's been 6 hours. What would you expect?" As much as one could deny it, there seems to be some sliver of truth to her analysis. Lana refused to accept this possibility.

"You're wrong! Lincoln's coming back, I know it!" She hits the side of the couch in blind fury. Before the room could erupt into a full-blown battle, the parents came into the room having finished their conversation on the phone with the authorities.

"What did they say," inquired Lori. Rita rubs her temples in exhaustion.

"We've just filed a missing person's report."

"Will they be able to find him, mom?" Lana asked. Rita gave her 6-year-old daughter a grim look. She would love for Lincoln to return home to prove her suspicions wrong, but at the same time, it's been 8 hours since he had gone missing. Rita sighed and got down to Lana's level.

"I just don't know, dear. All we can do is hope for the best."

Lynn Sr. informs his daughters that a search party had been sent to look for Lincoln. They'll report to them once they have accumulated enough evidence pertaining to his whereabouts.

A few more hours go by as the girls tried to go about their usual activities. However, a sense of gloom prevented them from fully enjoying them.

"It's been how many hours now," moaned Luan.

Lisa looked down at her wristwatch. "Approximately twelve hours."

Lola's lip quivered at this. "Lincoln must really be mad at us." She quietly wept into her handkerchief.

Luna sets her guitar down and hugs Lola tightly. "Even if he is, he isn't the type of guy to just walk out," suggested Luna.

Lola turned her glance towards her; her tears were messing with her mascara. "He tried to tell us that he wasn't cursed, but we let our stupid superstitions get in the way."

Lana goes over to comfort her sister as well. Lynn leaned against the couch, nearly crying herself. "I hope he returns real soon. I need to make up for what I said." Her sisters were in agreement. Perhaps when he comes home, they could respect his decision and not force him to attend their events. They'll be sure to give him the privacy that he deserved.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. "That must be the search party!" declared Lori. She dashed out of the room to alert her parents. Without fail, they rushed towards the front door. Rita went to open the door, and sees two officers standing there. One was short and heavy, while the other was tall. What both men had in common were their forlorn looks.

"Yes?"

The skinny officer talked first. "Yes, we've been out searching for your son. After some thorough research, my partner and I may have the answers to his whereabouts." Rita's heart nearly burst out of her chest.

"Where is he?" she asked excitedly.

The two police officers looked at each other. This time, the heavy set officer responded. "Ma'am, may we ask that you send your daughters out of the room?" An odd request, sure, but she obeyed. Lori tried to protest saying that she and her sisters had every right to know what happened to Lincoln, but she tumbles on her words when her father gave her a stern look. She quickly hustled her sisters out of the room.

With the kids gone, the parents immediately resume their discussion with the officers. "Well, did you find our son?" begged Lynn Sr.

The skinny officer nodded his head. "Yes, we have."

Rita sighs in relief. "Oh, I'm so delighted!" she proclaimed "please, may we speak with him?"

The police officers looked at each other in hesitation. "Ma'am, I don't think he'd have much to say."

Rita was perplexed. Sure, she knew that her son would most assuredly be enraged that he had to sleep outside all night, but maybe he'd find it in his heart to forgive them for their foolishness.

"Doesn't have much to say? But wh…" Her mind meditated on those words. Suddenly, his cryptic words began to become clear. Fully realizing the context of his explanation, Rita's eyes began to swell with tears. Without as much as a word officer produces a plastic bag, and shows it to the two parents, their mouths agape with horror. In the bag was Lincoln's orange shirt. The shirt was drenched with stained blood which gave the shirt a rusty appearance. Rita threw herself into her husband's arms as Lynn Sr. did his best to comfort his distraught wife.

"Mr. and Mrs. Loud, you have my condolences," said the officer.


	3. A Terrible Truth

Chapter Two: A Terrible Truth

Your child is dead. Four words that no parent would ever want to hear. Rita closed her eyes a few times to take in what the officer had just said to her. Surely this was all some huge mistake. For all she knew, Lincoln was sleeping soundly in bed. She wanted to deny this; she wanted it all to be some awful joke. But it took only a glimpse at her son's bloodied shirt to bring her back into reality. Tears rolled down her cheeks as her husband held her tighter. There was no getting around it. Lincoln, her precious son, was dead. The officers found Lincoln's body hidden in a shallow grave deep within the woods. His body was left in such a grizzly condition, that the authorities could only identify him by his clothes and teeth. Thankfully, the officer saved most of the details from Rita, lest she were thrown into a heart attack. Curiously enough, the haunting sight reminded the officers of a certain serial killer's handiwork.

The Royal Woods Stalker was what they called him. Many Royal Woods residents have attributed the killer as being behind the disappearances of several children in the neighborhood. Witnesses have claimed that the Royal Woods Stalker is a medium-sized man roughly around his mid-fifties, who also had a graying hairline. However, he had managed to escape the authorities for several years, ultimately causing them to call off the hunt. It seemed as though the infamous child murderer took a cooling off period, or at the very least was dead. No reports of missing children ever reared their ugly head until now. Could it be that Lincoln was murdered by this enigmatic killer, or perhaps it was a copycat? Whatever the reason it was all the same; Lincoln was dead, and it was their faults for taking their superstitions too far.

"Come to think of it, I'd have to ask you two a few questions," states the lanky officer.

Rita tilts her head quizzically. "Sure, I guess so."

The officer scratched his chin deep in thought. "What was an 11-year-old boy doing outside in the first place?"

Rita chuckled anxiously, whilst scratching the back of her head. "Well, you see officer…."

The officer interjects her. What he said next sent a chill down her spine. "Might I ask that you two come with me to the station? I have a few concerns to address" he asked.

Rita gulped fearfully. It would've been just a matter of time before the authorities began to drill her for answers. Her losing her son to a serial killer was bad enough, but the idea that she would possibly be serving jail time for deliberately locking him out sent her in a flurry of mixed emotions. Before she could answer, the girls break into the room, and they start to corner the officers demanding answers.

The officers pull out their tasers. "Back up this instant" yelled the heavy set officer. The two officers simultaneously activate their tasers to show the girls that they would act on their threat. Rita stepped in between her daughters and the two officers fearing the possible outbreak of a war.

"Wait, don't shoot them," sighed Rita "could you just give me a few minutes to break the news to them?" The officers gave an intense glare at the girls causing them to back away.

"Fine, make it quick." Handcuffs were placed onto the two parents' wrists, and they direct Lynn Sr. towards the door.

Before leaving, Lynn Sr. turned to give his wife a sorrowful look. "See you soon, dear." With that, Lynn Sr. is led to the police car.

Rita was alone with her daughters. They looked at each other for what seemed like forever. Not a single word was being uttered. It was so quiet, in fact, that if one were to drop a pin on the floor, it still wouldn't elicit a response. Eventually, Rita was reminded of her limited time, thus forcing her to tell her daughters the terrible truth. "Girls" she strained herself to say "they found Lincoln."

The girls perked up at this. They jumped up and down in delight. Finally, after all of these hours of waiting for some sort of news, it seems that Lincoln is finally coming back home. "Is he alright?" asks Lola.

Rita twiddled her thumbs. How can she break the news to them? They're looking at her with hopeful eyes. She shouldn't quash their hopes, but…there was no going around that. Conflicted as she was, she knew that it had to be done.

"Girls," she began "your brother isn't coming back."

The girls stopped celebrating, and they looked at their mother with confusion. "Not coming back?" replied Lola. The room became silent again. Not coming back? They'd figure that Lincoln would be incensed with them for treating him terribly, but that was just ridiculous.

Luan nervously laughed at her mom as if thinking that she made a joke. "Ha, ha, great joke, Mom! You really had us with that one!" Luan stopped laughing once she noticed that her mother's facial expressions didn't change. "Mom?" she asked in concern.

A lump formed in Rita's throat. "They found his body in the woods. They….they believe that he was murdered."

The girls' hearts shattered on the spot. Tears began to swell in their eyes as they began to crowd their mother. "Please say it ain't so, mom!" whimpers Luna.

"Lincoln's not dead, I know it!" cried Lana. Rita was close to tears as well. The girls came together in an embrace. They began to mourn the loss of their only brother.

"I wish I was wrong," droned Lucy. Even though she was correct in her verdict, she secretly wished that maybe she would be proven wrong. It's not that common for the young gothic girl to be optimistic, but she truly wanted her brother to return in one piece. But that's not the likely case anymore. A horn blared indicating for Rita to leave.

"I'm sorry, girls, but I have to go. Please take care of yourself." With that, Rita pried herself from the group embrace, and walked towards the door. She exhaled deeply, and exited the house. The girls continued to mourn for their brother. Losing him hurt more than any fight that they had gotten in. They had treated Lincoln like garbage all day because they believed that he was bad luck when really they were letting their beliefs clot their judgment. Now, they could never hope to beg Lincoln for forgiveness. They didn't even deserve his forgiveness they thought.

"Our Linky is gone," sobbed Leni.

"And it's all Lynn's fault!" screamed Lola.

The girls turn their attention to Lynn. Lynn was sitting on the far end of the couch. She had been silent ever since their mom just delivered the bad news. Because of her rumor, she unwittingly set into motion the events that culminated in Lincoln's senseless murder. There was no one to blame except herself as far as she was concerned. The sisters marched towards the tomboy, clearly infuriated.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" inquired Luan. Lynn didn't respond.

"Our little bro's dead, and it's your fault," growled Luna. Lynn was slightly unnerved by this. Luna hardly ever got angry. There just seemed to be venom in her tone of voice.

Without warning, Lori grabs Lynn by the shoulders and shakes her hardly. "We should've known to not listen to your shit!"

The other girls were shocked by her sudden burst of anger. Even Lynn was shocked enough to momentarily break out of her catatonic state. What happened next was especially shocking. Lori grabs Lynn by her collar, and slams her fist into her face several times. A mixture of blood and tears were spilling from her open orifices. Lori then throws her onto the floor and grinds her foot on her chest. Lynn winced in pain. Her right eye became swollen and developed a deep purple tint. The other siblings looked at each other, and then back at Lynn. Looking at her broken body frightened them. Lori looked back them, and saw their frightened faces. Her rampage was over. Lori kept looking at them, and then focused behind them for a short moment. On the wall stood a large, wooden trophy case. Lined with various awards and medals- especially Lynn's case. Then there was Lincoln's. An almost empty box, with a lone trophy inside. Lori remembered that, at first glance, it seemed to be a proper award. _No,_ now she saw that it was a damn _pity_ award. Lori hated it- she hated the very sight of it. Her gaze then fell upon her worried sisters. _Now she didn't feel bad about their worry._ Lori shoved past them and opened up Lincoln's case. Out she pulled his _tiny_ trophy. She then made her way back over to Lynn.

"Lori wh-what are you-" Luna called out to no response.

Lori stood over Lynn, who began to look back at the enraged sister, who towered over her. Lori slammed the trophy down onto Lynn's head- over and over again. Lynn could feel nothing but sheer pain.

The sisters all stood- frozen. Only Leni reacted as she attempted to get Lori to stop. Lori her back and swung at her with the trophy, _this time_ , breaking. Lori turned back to Lynn and proceeded to kick her head one last time, before the rest of the Loud sisters snapped out of their daze once Leni was hit.

Lynn was out of it. Leni was on the floor, crying, while everyone was holding Lori back and yelling at her to calm down.

Leni, turned to her broken sister, who laid on the ground. She stumbled over, Lynn was barely grasping onto consciousness. Blood was drooling out of her mouth and nose, one eye was shut tight while the other was barely staying open. Then giant gase on the side was leaking. And worst, was the pool under head. Leni shrieked in horror at what Lynn must've been going through at the moment.

"No, no, no, no!" Leni cried while rushing to bathroom to find a first aid kit.

Lucy left the rest of the conflicted sisters and looked at what Leni saw. She saw her roomate on the floor- possibly clinging onto life itself. Lucy wanted to _vomit_.

"L-L-..." Lynn tried to talk but blood kept coming out and was now flooding her mouth. Lynn did her best to get a good look at Lucy, pain was all she could feel. Her vision was getting more and more blurry by the second. She expected a white light of some kind. But, it was only red, as she faded out.


	4. Such Luck

Chapter 3: Such Luck

Lynn shot up. Sweat ran down her forehead and covered her body. She felt a damp, _warmth_ , under her. Lynn hadn't wet the bed since she was six. And here she was, an eighth grader, pissing herself in her sleep. She turned to Lucy, who was still sound asleep.

Lynn got out of bed. She stood up and looked down at her pants, then to her mattress. "Eww…"

Lynn looked at her phone and checked the time. _10:00 PM._ Lynn sighed and picked up her sheets and blankets and tossed them off the bed.

"Well, this is just great, 10:00 PM, we're going to the beach tomorrow at 9:00 AM, and I've got nowhere to sleep!..." Lynn though for a moment. "Maybe Lincoln's got some spa-" Lynn paused her self-only conversation. Her eyes widened and the throat lump made itself apparent.

Lynn disregarded her pee-stained clothes and and rushed downstairs and the backdoor. It was a warm night. Lynn looked around her. She noticed a pair of headlights down the street getting closer. Lynn glanced to the dog house. There he was. He looked so _sad_ in his sleep. Lynn could only imagine what his last moments were. _But they weren't his last moments_. Lincoln was right there, in front of her- _sleeping in a dog-house instead of inside with his family._ Lynn hopped over the fence and rushed over to her brother. Lynn placed her hand on Lincoln, who jumped up in fear and hit his head. IT didn't stop him from momentarily struggling.

"Agh! Who's there!?"

"Linc-, it's just me!"

"Oh." He stopped and looked at Lynn he seemed depressed almost. "What are _you_ doing out here?"

"You're coming back inside, come on."

"B-but I'm-"

"No!" She shot at him. "No, you're not. You're my brother, and you're coming in."

"O-okay…" He replied, uneasy.

Lynn picked him up by the shoulder, while he held his pillow and blanket. The two began walking over to the door. Lynn looked over, the car from down the street had slowed down, but when Lynn looked at it, it sped up and drove away.

"Yeah, that's right…" Lynn whispered to herself.

"What was that, Lynn?" Lincoln asked.

"Nothin'..."

.

The sun rose the next morning. Birds were chirping and everything was quiet. Everything except one house.

"But he's bad luck!" Lori stated.

"Yeah, what gives?" Luna added.

"I'm not leaving him here." Lynn stood by Lincoln at breakfast. The entire family against her.

"Kiddo, what if something bad happens to you or your sisters?" Lynn Sr. asked the girl.

"It won't. It'll be a good day and we'll all have fun. Or _you_ guys will have a fun day at the beach, _I'm_ not leaving Lincoln's side," the family glanced at the boy. He hadn't said a word _all morning_ , Lynn had done all the talking. "Were we _really_ planning on making him sleep outside. He's _family_ for peete's sake."

"But you said he was bad luck!" Lola pointed out.

Lynn looked at her, she thought back to the baseball game, then to her… _dream_. "I've had a change of heart. Plus, he's my brother. If he's bad luck, _I'm bad luck_."

Lola scoffed. "Let's just leave them!" She looked at the rest of the family.

"I think Junior has a point, sweetie." Lynn Sr. told the six year-old.

"Yeah, I think we're being a little rediculous about this." Rita, having second thoughts on Lincoln's situation.

"I would like to add my vote to mother's opinion," Lisa, now examining her brother. "Judging by the current state he's in, this is putting a psychological _and_ physical strain on our male sibling." The family glanced back over to the boy. Lisa's statement now more apparent to them.

"All in favor of not calling Lincoln bad luck anymore, say I." Lori raised her shoe in the air followed a total of eleven raised hands, including Lincoln's. While counting, Lori noticed one hand not up- Lola's. The family stared at her. She sat in silence for a moment, before finally raising her hand with a conflicted ' _I'_.

"Then that settles it, Lincoln is back on board!" Lynn Sr. cheered as the family joined in. All except for Lynn and Lincoln. The former lookin at the latter, who was looking at his cereal.

This ordeal was _far_ from over.

THE END

 **Wait what? The End? Is that it? The ending to Shattered Innocence?**

 **For now, yes. I will probably be writing an epilogue, so don't worry. But life has no specific, happy ending. Just short, little episodes. And this was one of those. I also want to leave it up to the reader's interpretation as to what happens next, because it could honestly be ANYTHING. Verbal fight, somebody dies, Lincoln could turn out to ACTUALLY BE BAD LUCK, who knows? This is just my "happy" ending to this story that just won't die. So I guess that makes me the first person to finish this damn thing. Doesn't it?**


End file.
